Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 55

Jason’s POV

Night settled in with steady rain against the windows. I had my wardrobe open and a suitcase on the bed. Shirts lay folded in stacks. A suit for formal calls sat on top. I checked the laces on my boots, then rolled two belts and set them near the edge.

Earlier, I heard the commotion from outside, knowing that Viki had just died. I didn’t feel pity for her. She had fooled me. Thankfully, the Luna Ceremony hadn’t been completed. The Luna link never formed, so the death shock would not pass through the mate mark.

The door burst open without a knock causing me to jump in surprise. Henry stood in the doorway looking frazzled. His chest rose and fell quickly and water from the tips of his hair pooled on the floor as if he came running in from the rain.

“What the hell, Henry?” I scolded.

“Alpha… Jason,” he gasped, struggling to catch his breath. “Viki… she escaped.”

“What? What did you say?”

“She escaped,” Henry repeated. “The body in the dungeon isn’t her.”

My stomach dropped. I grabbed my jacket that was hanging on the back of my chair. “Take me there now.”

We moved fast down the stairs. The lower corridor was colder than the rest of the packhouse. Two guards stood at the dungeon door with their eyes down and their shoulders tight. When they saw me, they stepped aside.

Henry opened the door, and we entered the first cell. A body lay under a blanket near the wall.

I walked over to the body. The outline matched what I expected to see: small frame, slight shoulders, a dress pulled tight across the stomach. I crouched and lifted the edge of the blanket.

“Jane,” I said. “This is Viki’s personal maid.” Jane and Viki looked as if they were sisters. Probably why Roy made her Viki’s personal maid. But a thin scar below her left ear confirmed it was not Viki, but Jane.

“Log her death through the infirmary and release her body to her family,” I ordered.

Henry nodded. “Yes, Alpha.”

“Explain how it came to this,” I commanded the guards.

One of them swallowed. His scent spiked with fear. “Alpha, we did as ordered. We put the hood on Viki. We took her to the gallows. Lord Roy arrived and said he wanted a final word with his daughter. I stepped outside the cell to give them privacy.”

“Lord Roy walked Viki out himself, saying that he wanted to send his daughter off to the Moon Goddess himself. We watched him placing the rope around her neck. After the execution, we brought her back here to prepare for her burial. When we removed her hood, we realized it was not Viki,” the other guard continued.

“You imbeciles,” I growled. “You allowed him to be alone with his daughter.”

“Sorry, Alpha,” the first guard trembled. “He said he wanted to give her peace and be the one to do it. He signaled us and we pulled the lever.”

I let silence sit between us until both guards started to shift their weight. My wolf pressed forward, wanting to maul the two guards in front of me. I took a calming breath.

“Good riddance,” Henry said. “I actually don’t know what you saw in her, Alpha. I never liked her.”

“I know. You have told me at least a thousand times,” I sighed as we exited the dungeon and went back to the main floor. I would have to report the failure to my father and the corrective action taken.

“And you should have listened to me. You wouldn’t be in this mess now,” Henry scolded.

“Talia is a weak omega, even without Viki, I’ll need a stronger Luna,” I spat.

Henry sighed, “Physical strength isn’t everything. That is why we have mates. So our other half can fill in the areas that we lack.”

I let a low, dangerous growl escape. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were in love with Talia.”

“No. I just think she’s a good Luna,” he said with a shrug.

“Just shut up and go pack,” I said, letting my gaze linger on him a moment longer than necessary. “We leave for Silverfang at dawn.”

Henry’s brow furrowed. “Silverfang? For what?”

A dangerous sneer curled my lips. “The Alpha King’s throne.”